There are a few things Henry Denton knows, and a few things he doesn’t.

Henry knows that his mom is struggling to keep the family together, and coping by chain-smoking cigarettes. He knows that his older brother is a college dropout with a pregnant girlfriend. He knows that he is slowly losing his grandmother to Alzheimer’s. And he knows that his boyfriend committed suicide last year.

What Henry doesn’t know is why the aliens chose to abduct him when he was thirteen, and he doesn’t know why they continue to steal him from his bed and take him aboard their ship. He doesn’t know why the world is going to end or why the aliens have offered him the opportunity to avert the impending disaster by pressing a big red button.

But they have. And they’ve only given him 144 days to make up his mind.

The question is whether Henry thinks the world is worth saving. That is, until he meets Diego Vega, an artist with a secret past who forces Henry to question his beliefs, his place in the universe, and whether any of it really matters. But before Henry can save the world, he’s got to figure out how to save himself, and the aliens haven’t given him a button for that.

review

This is one of those books where it makes you stop and think about life. So many things happen to this poor main character that you couldn’t help but wonder why.. But at the same time it’s realistic and raw and heart-breaking. There are moments that I couldn’t figure out where it was going but I kept plodding through. The writing flows so easily that a 450+ pages book didn’t take all that long to read. Don’t skip this one or you’ll kind of regret it! I would have completely passed on this one if it weren’t for Simon Teen Canada letting me know and my fellow book blogger friend Brittany @ This is the Story of my Reading Life telling me it was amazing! The book isn’t even science fiction, only bits and pieces. It’s more contemporary than anything else. I liked how there were bits of it here and there, but it didn’t distract me from the whole story.

The strongest part about this has to do with the characters. We find little bits about Jesse, Henry’s ex-boyfriend through his memories. And even Audrey who was Jesse’s best friend. I just loved how Henry was portrayed. How he is struggling to live life after his boyfriend’s death. Henry keeps blaming himself and it was just sooo sad to hear. Even when Jesse’s mom comes in and talks to Henry..Oh my heart, it was a pretty emotional read. And after a week of finishing this, I had to bump my rating to another star. Books that stay with me for a while always end up being five stars, and this one my friends is no exception. I want this for my collection just because it’s ending up as one of my favourite memorable reads.

I am now such a huge Shaun David Hutchinson fan that I need to go and read his previous books. His writing stays with you and isn’t that what most authors want? For their work to stay with people and remind them about love, life, and death? *cries*

quotes

Despite what you’ve spent your entire life believing, you are not a special snowflake. (15)

The problem with choices is that I usually make the wrong ones. (65)

There’s an amazing world out there for you to discover, Henry Denton, but you have to be willing to discover yourself first. (99)

Life rarely works out the way we plan it. (102)

I tried to think of the right thing to say, but sometimes the right thing to say is nothing. (123)

Because I can be myself around you, even if I don’t know who I am yet. (171)

Because sometimes it’s easier to start with a clean slate than to drag the baggage of your past with you wherever you go. (242)

Depression isn’t a war you win. It’s a battle you fight every day. You never get to stop, never get to rest. (328)

Sometimes, people just quit wanting to live, and there’s no good reason for it. It’s so fucking selfish and cruel to the people left behind, but we can’t change that. We can only live with it. (341)

We remember the past, live in the present, and write the future. (451)

We may not get to choose how we die, but we can choose how we live. (451)

Great review! I keep seeing this book around. I need to read it ASAP. Alien abduction stories scare the crap out of me, but this sounds super emotional and too good to pass up, so I’ll read it anyway.Kate @ Mom’s Radius recently posted…YA Book Club: February Recap

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Hello! I'm Giselle and I'm a BlogTuber (Book Blogger + BookTuber). I book blog and I also make videos on my BookTube channel . I'm also a web and graphic designer, amateur photographer n00b, dog lover, and all around book nerd. *waves* :P

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